Chronology: Lance Armstrong

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Austin - Chronology of Lance Armstrong's career and the doping accusations that have the US cycling icon facing a lifetime ban and loss of his seven Tour de France titles:

1992: After competing in the Barcelona Olympics, Armstrong turns professional. Finishes last in his first pro race, the Clasica de San Sebastian.

1993: Wins the world championship, the USPRO championship and a stage in his first Tour de France.

1996: Enters the year as the top-ranked cyclist in the world. In October, he undergoes surgery and chemotherapy to treat testicular cancer that has spread to his lungs and brain.

1997: Announces formation of a charitable foundation to benefit cancer research and resumes training.

1998: Returns to racing, wins Tour de Luxembourg, the Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt in Germany and the Cascade Classic in Oregon.

1999: Wins first Tour de France title riding for US Postal Service team. Becomes just second American to win the Tour.

2000: Wins second Tour de France title. Publishes "It's Not About the Bike" about his return from cancer.

2001: Wins third Tour de France title.

2002: Wins fourth Tour de France title.

2003: Wins fifth Tour de France title.

2004: Weeks before the start of the Tour, Armstrong is accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs in a book written by David Walsh and Pierre Ballester. Wins sixth Tour de France title.

2005: Announces in April he will retire from pro cycling after the Tour. Wins seventh Tour de France title.

In August, French sports newspaper L'Equipe reports tests on six urine samples allegedly taken from Armstrong during the 1999 Tour and frozen were positive for blood-boosting erythropoietin (EPO). Armstrong maintains he has never taken performance-enhancing drugs.

2006: Armstrong is cleared of doping allegations that stemmed from a 1999 drug test. Report states re-testing didn't meet scientific standards. In July, Floyd Landis wins the Tour but is stripped of his title after failing a drug test.

2007: Lance Armstrong Foundation marks its 10th anniversary and pays out $7.5 million in grants.

2008: On September 9, Armstrong announces his intention to return to professional cycling.

2009: On March 23, Armstrong crashes in the first stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y León in Spain and breaks his collarbone. He resumes training four days after surgery. In April, the AFLD, France's anti-doping agency, accuses Armstrong of failing to cooperate fully with a drug tester. He denies the accusation. Armstrong finishes third in the Tour de France.

2010: In May, Landis admits he was using performance-enhancing drugs when he rode on the US Postal Service team and accused team members, including Armstrong, of also using performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong denies the allegations.

In September, Betsy Andreu, wife of former Armstrong team-mate Frankie Andreu, said she spoke to a federal agent investigating Armstrong and other cyclists. Betsy Andreu has claimed that Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in a hospital room in 1996 while battling cancer. Armstrong denies the allegation.

2011: In January, a Sports Illustrated magazine article quotes Armstrong's 1995 team-mate Stephen Swart as saying Armstrong was "the instigator" for some team members to use EPO. Armstrong's lawyer says the allegation is false.

After competing in Australia's Tour Down Under, Armstrong announces his retirement from competitive cycling in February.

In May, former team-mate Tyler Hamilton tells CBS News that he and Armstrong had taken EPO together during the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Tours de France.

2012: In February, US federal prosecutors drop a criminal investigation into Armstrong and other cyclists without bringing charges.

On June 29, the US Anti-Doping Agency officially charges Armstrong with doping and trafficking of drugs, and suspends him from competing.

In July, Armstrong files a lawsuit in federal court in Texas against the USADA, but a judge threw it out the same day. One day later, Armstrong refiles the lawsuit.

On August 20, a federal judge dismisses Armstrong's lawsuit, leaving him three days to decide if he would fight USADA's charges through arbitration.

On August 23, Armstrong says he won't take his case to arbitration. USADA chief Travis Tygart says Armstrong will be stripped of all of his results dating back to August 1, 1998 and banned from cycling for life.

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